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Charlie Springer, one of the young people we have been working with, has been nominated for an award – and we’re super proud of him.

Our Charlie is currently serving an apprenticeship with Deaf Umbrella, a company which provides services and support to people with hearing impairments. He has reached the finals of the Federation of Small Business’ London Business Awards in the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ category. The awards night takes place on 30 July and Charlie’s up against two other young people; we’re keeping our fingers crossed for him.

Charlie has written a great blog post about working with Deaf Umbrella, which you can read here.

For the latest in our Drive Talks series we were pleased to be joined by Simon Smart, Team Leader of the Future of Europe Department at the Foreign Office.

Drive Talks is our version of the hugely popular Ted Talks; we invite inspiring and interesting people to speak to our young people about their lives and careers. Having journeyed through a troubled background himself, Simon had plenty of insights to share on what it takes to deal with the past and eventually move on from it. One of the analogies he used was that of an infected wound; if you just put a plaster on it, the infection will become progressively worse. Instead, you have to ‘clean out the muck’, and the sooner you do this the better.

This prompted our young people to share their own personal experiences with one another. As well as offering some valuable emotional and moral guidance, Simon also spoke about the different possible routes they could take into the world of politics.

More young care leavers will have the chance to realise their career dreams following a hugely successful event held in aid of Drive Forward.

Not only was the event a sell-out but it raised the fantastic sum of £4000 AND crucially resulted in companies such as Saatchi and Saatchi, Norton Rose Fullbright, Havas, Krow Communications and DFS offering work placements for our young people. Guests packed The Pregnant Man pub on Charlotte Street where they were entertained by the brilliantly funny comedian Nick Hastings. Our very own Sophie Hytner provided a jazz influenced musical interlude with Porsha Grant, a Diploma student at Wac Arts. They were accompanied by Adam Gray, a former student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

As the evening progressed the audience was introduced to Drive Forward’s Director, Martha Wansbrough and Michael Carter, one of the young care leavers on the Drive Programme. Guests listened intently as Martha explained the unique challenges young people face when they leave the care system and spoke of the difference the charity, in partnership with local employers, can make. These sentiments were echoed by Michael (pictured) who spoke eloquently and passionately about his personal experiences of growing up in care. Having recently completed a placement at Saatchi and Saatchi, Michael was interviewed on stage by his supervisor about how the opportunity had given him the confidence and determination to pursue his chosen career.

After the event, Martha Wansbrough said: “In the short term the money raised will help us to work with more care leavers, but as our guests heard first hand from Michael, the placements we have been offered will have a lasting impact on the young people who are accepted onto them. We are extremely grateful to everyone who came along and supported us. The evening wouldn’t have been possible without the backing of Saatchi and Saatchi, not to mention the support of their Worldwide Deputy Chairman, Richard Hytner.”

Our young people had a brilliant introduction to the word of advertising last week, thanks to the team at JWT.

Having started the day with a delicious Drive Forward cooked breakfast (you can’t go to work without a decent breakfast) we set off for the offices of JWT. We were given a really informative tour of all the floors and departments in the agency (planning, strategy, finance, creative); the creative department was particularly funky! After a challenging icebreaker – building the highest possible wall using just sellotape, pasta and marshmallows – we were introduced to the brief, which was the main focus of the day. Continue reading “Pitching to JWT” »

DRIVE FORWARD

We’re here to make a difference in the lives of young care leavers. Wherever they’re coming from, we’re on a mission to help open doors and give them the skills, confidence and inspiration to make some momentum and realise their full potential.